About Bēquebēque: the budgeting app that works the way you do

The envelope system

The envelope system is one of the oldest budgeting methods. You split your cash into envelopes, one for each spending area: groceries, transport, going out. When an envelope is empty, you stop spending in that area until next month. It works because the limit is physical and impossible to ignore.

It suits people who overspend in a few specific areas and want hard limits. The digital version keeps the limits without making you carry cash.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Tap Add Bucket, choose Expense, and name it after your envelope.
2. Set its Allotted Amount. That's how much goes in the envelope.
3. Turn on Recurring so the envelope refills every month.
4. Log every purchase into it. The card's Total left shows what's still in the envelope, and turns into Overdrawn by in red if you go over.
5. Optional: turn on Carry over budget to roll whatever you didn't spend into next month's envelope.

The 50/30/20 rule

The 50/30/20 rule splits your income three ways: 50% for needs like rent, bills and groceries, 30% for wants like eating out and hobbies, and 20% for savings and paying down debt. It's popular because it's easy to remember and doesn't require tracking dozens of categories.

It suits beginners and anyone who wants a simple, balanced rule instead of a detailed plan.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Add an Income bucket for your pay and turn on Pooled. Whatever you log there becomes your monthly funds.
2. Add an Expense bucket called Needs with 50% of your funds as its allotted amount, and another called Wants with 30%.
3. Add a Savings bucket, turn on Monthly goal, and set At least to 20% of your funds.
4. Add a % Funds Used widget to the top of your dashboard to see the whole month at a glance.
5. Want more detail? Split Needs and Wants into smaller buckets whose budgets add up to the same totals.

Zero-based budgeting

In zero-based budgeting, every peso gets a job before the month starts. Income minus everything you've assigned should equal zero. That doesn't mean spending it all: savings and debt payments are jobs too. The point is that nothing is left floating around unplanned.

It suits people who like control and want to be intentional with every peso.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Log your income in a pooled Income bucket.
2. Create a bucket for every job your money needs to do: bills, food, savings, debt, fun.
3. Add the Unallotted Funds widget. It shows how much of your funds hasn't been given a bucket yet.
4. Keep assigning budgets and goals until it reads ₱0.

Pay yourself first

Pay yourself first means saving comes out the moment you're paid, before bills and before spending. Instead of saving whatever is left at the end of the month, which is often nothing, you treat savings like your most important bill.

It suits people who find saving hard because the money always seems to disappear first.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Add a Savings bucket and turn on Recurring.
2. Log a recurring deposit into it, dated on your payday. It will appear every month on its own.
3. The day you're paid, move the money to your savings account and tick the entry off. The card's Total saved goes up.
4. Budget the rest of the month with what's left.

Sinking funds

A sinking fund is money you set aside a little at a time for a cost you know is coming: Christmas gifts, a new phone, school fees, car registration, a trip. Instead of one big hit that wrecks a month, you spread it out.

It suits anyone who keeps getting surprised by expenses that weren't really surprises.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Add a Savings bucket for each upcoming cost.
2. Give each one a Goal. The progress bar fills as you save, counting every month, not just this one.
3. Log deposits as you set money aside. When the day comes, log the purchase from that bucket.
4. Add a Left to Goal widget for the one you care about most.

Paying off debt: the snowball and avalanche methods

The debt snowball pays off your smallest debt first while making minimum payments on the rest, then rolls that payment into the next smallest. Each win builds momentum. The debt avalanche does the same, but starts with the debt that has the highest interest rate, which saves the most money over time.

It suits anyone juggling credit cards, loans, pay-later plans or money owed to family.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Add a Loan bucket for each debt and enter its Loan Total.
2. Log each payment and tick it off when it's paid. Remaining counts down toward zero.
3. Drag your loan buckets into payoff order, so the debt you're attacking sits at the top.
4. Add a Remaining Balance or % Paid Off widget for the one you're focused on.

Paycheck budgeting

If you're paid twice a month or every week, budgeting by the calendar month can feel wrong. Paycheck budgeting plans each pay period on its own, so you only budget money you actually have.

It suits people paid on the 15th and 30th, weekly earners, and anyone who runs low right before payday.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Open Settings → Funds → Budget period.
2. Choose Semimonthly and pick your two paydays, or choose Weekly.
3. Review how your recurring budgets split across cutoffs or weeks, then switch.
4. Your dashboard, budgets and widgets now follow each cutoff or week.

Just tracking

Not everyone wants limits. Sometimes you just want to know where your money goes. Tracking alone is often the first step: once you see the pattern, you decide what to change.

It suits beginners and anyone who feels boxed in by budgets.

How to do it in Bēquebēque:

1. Create buckets without an allotted amount.
2. Log as you go. Each card shows Total spent.
3. At the end of the month, open Statistics to see where it all went and how it compares to earlier months.

Your own thing

None of these are rules. Keep a 50/30/20 split with a sinking fund for your trip and a loan bucket for what you owe your sister. Run the envelope system for food and just track everything else. Change your mind next month. If it helps you understand your money, it's the right system.